Tiva Down Under
by stelleimaginaire
Summary: Tony and Ziva head to Australia for a case but someone has something else in mind for them...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One.

"I'm Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo and this is my partner, Officer," Tony paused in his introductions, "I mean, Special Agent Ziva David." He was still getting used to Ziva no longer being Officer David, Mossad.

Tony was speaking to an elderly lady sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch. They were speaking to the surly looking lady about a murder that occurred across the street. So far all the neighbours the team had interviewed had been extremely unhelpful. It must just be this neighbourhood, Tony thought.

"Yessum," the old lady said. She titled her head to the left so as to get a better view of Ziva. Her disapproving glare was just one of many Ziva had had to endure that day and by then she was about ready to snap. Tony sensing her discomfort and change in stance continued.

"And what may your name be?" he asked adding a touch of the irresistible Dinozzo charm. At least he thought it was.

"I, young man, am Mrs. Dubose to you and I need nome of your silly attitude," Mrs. Dubose frowned for the third time since meeting them.

"Okay. Well Agent David and I are just here to ask you a few questions about…" Mrs. Dubose cut him off impatiently.

"The murder, yessum I know. You city folks ha' been down here all day pokin' around and stickin' their noses in other people's business. Mrs. Birse down the street now she told me that…" Mrs. Dubose launched into a speech that proved no more helpful than the rest of them Tony and Ziva had heard today.

Gibbs paced up and down in front of the small, one bedroom house. Across the street he could see Tony and Ziva talking to an agitated old lady. By the looks of things they wouldn't be finished any time soon and McGee was interviewing the couple next door.

The door to the house opened and Ducky emerged wheeling the front of the trolley on which Petty Office Hughes now lay in a body bag.

"Duck, let me know when you finish the autopsy will ya'?" Gibbs said.

"Now, now Jethro. These things take time," Ducky replied and upon seeing the look on Gibbs' face he added "But I will make this one speed along a bit faster than usual. You know, Jethro, this case reminds me of when I was studying in England. There was a man near my dorm room…"

"Duck. Autopsy, then story," interrupted Gibbs.

"Uh, yes. Of course." Ducky and Palmer put the body into the back of the van and drove off, undoubtedly heading for the Navy Yard. Gibbs' attention returned to across the street where Tony and Ziva had finished the interview. Ziva's laugh could be heard from where he was standing and Gibbs frowned. Ziva hadn't been herself since they had rescued her from Somalia and though she was laughing he knew something was still troubling her.

For now though, the thought would have to go into his inbox. He would deal with it whenever he had the time, or when it became more of a problem. Whichever came first.

Back at NCIS Abby was eagerly awaiting the return of the team. She hadn't been all that busy since their last case and was beginning to think that her Caf-Pow's were being wasted. She needed evidence, and so did her babies.

"Major MacSpec, you had better be in good shape. No slacking off just because we haven't had any evidence for a while," she said talking to a large box like machine against the far wall. "A brilliant forensic scientist like myself must always be ready for, well, anything I guess," she finished by raising her arms in the air in a flourish worthy of any drag queen.

"Nice," Tony said as he entered. Behind him followed McGee, arms laden with boxes of evidence. Both men deposited the boxes they were carrying on the metallic bench in the middle of the lab.

"Evidence! Finally, what took you guys so long? You've been gone since six am. Ziva was the only one here when Gibbs got the phone call," Abby had already begun rifling through her loot, her eyes already getting that glazed look they so often got when around masses of evidence.

"Well, it took us longer than expected to get statements from the neighbours," McGee said with a hint of annoyance.

"McSlow here took forever is what happened, Ziva and I were finished incredibly quickly," Tony lied.

"Me? You and Ziva were still onto your third interview when I was onto my fifth. It's you two who were the slow ones." McGee's face scrunched up in a frown.

"There were that many interviews? No wonder you guys took so long," Abby looked up from her precious evidence. "Thanks for this; I'll let Gibbs know as soon as I get something. But more likely he will just know. He is Gibbs after all."

'Right. Sure you don't need any help here Abby?" McGee was hopeful; there was just no hiding it. Tired of paperwork and interviews he wanted something better to do, preferably involving computers.

"McGee, I only just got the evidence so… whoa," Abby said picking up a completely crushed laptop. "But then, I guess you could always try and get something from this."

"Great. Tony, you don't mind do you?" McGee said.

"No but Gibbs might. I'll tell him that you're helping out Abby," Tony replied before leaving for the elevator. McGee watched him go before pouncing on Abby.

"Something happened," he said startling Abby to which the glazed eye look had returned.

"What? What happened McGee?" Abby was genuinely curious. She was usually not a gossip but the lack of interesting cases had made her bored. Even with her new-found entertainment she wanted something to talk about.

"Something happened between Tony and Ziva. I know it did, they have been acting weird all week, I've been dying to tell someone," McGee rushed through the words, eager to get them out of his mouth before someone else came out of the elevator.

"Like what, McGee? What do you think happened? And what do mean by weird? Is it a Ziva thing or is it bigger than that? Like, say a conspiracy? Answer me McGee!" Abby said. She too was flustered.

"I don't know, that's the problem. I can't really pin a guess as to what happened but something sure did and its making them both act… I don't know… _funny_ towards each other. Gibbs noticed it too, I saw him today watching them talk together. What do you think Abby?" Finally out with it McGee could now relax and wait for Abby's reaction. His audience however seemed lost in thought. McGee shook her shoulder, gently, almost as if he was waking her up from sleep.

_Ping!_ The elevator doors open to reveal Palmer, the autopsy technician, causing the two people in the forensic lab to abandon their thoughts and focus on him.

"I have the Petty Officer's blood samples Abby. Ducky said I should take them up to right away before you become too swamped in evidence," Palmer said indicating the large mound of plastic bags on the table.

"Palmer, have you noticed anything strange about Tony and Ziva lately?" McGee asked.

"Strange? No, not really. Oh wait, there was one time the other day when I caught them talking together in the men's bathroom. She really doesn't have much respect for the term 'Men's Room' does she?" McGee, Abby and Palmer exchanged looks. What was going on none of them knew for sure but whatever it was, they were going to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi everyone, so this is chapter two of my "Tiva Down Under" story. Hope you enjoy it. :)_

**Chapter Two**

Tony sat at his desk. He was watching Ziva carefully as she read something on her computer. Their talk the other day had made him slightly uncomfortable, especially when Palmer had interrupted. It being in the men's room had also added to the feeling of uncomfortableness. Why did she always choose to wait until he went to the men's room to talk? He wondered.

"Dinozzo! What are you doing?" Gibbs said. He was sitting at his desk next to Ziva's. Tony hadn't even noticed him come in.

"Uh, nothing boss. Just, uh…" Tony was stumped. Need an excuse, need an excuse. Nada.

"I need you to run a trace on this number, 6-1-0-4-5-5-3-2-9-0-2-3," Gibbs was reading the number off the sheet in front of him.

"That's an Australian number." Tony said.

"Yeah, and?"

"On it boss," came Tony's reply. Running the number through the trace program Tony took an opportunity to look at Ziva again. Now flipping through crime scene photos she seemed like the old Ziva again. But then again, there was the way she used to toy with Tony, teasing him about women, movies, food, anything really that just wasn't there. She didn't tease him anymore. The knowledge of this absence made it impossible to think of her as the old Ziva. Because she wasn't anymore. She had changed.

The _ding_ on his computer sounded and Tony looked back at it. Using the special controller, he put the trace results up onto the television screen. Gibbs and Ziva both rose to join him and look at the results.

"Petty Officer Hughes definitely called this number," Ziva said. Gibbs said nothing but returned to his desk and came back with another piece of paper.

"What does it mean boss?" Tony asked.

"It means I am going to need to find a contact in Australia. Ziva? You know anyone?" Gibbs asked.

Ziva frowned remembering. "That is in Melbourne, yes?" Gibbs nodded. "Then no, I know no-one in that area. I have one contact in Darwin but he would have nothing to do with this, or know anything about Petty Officer Hughes. Is this important Gibbs?"

Gibbs sighed before answering. "Yeah, it is. It means that our Petty Officer here was into a lot more than football and the navy."

* * *

Director Leon Vance liked his office. It had a good view over a park, comfy chairs and its own bar. He, like the previous director before him, didn't like however when Gibbs burst into the room. One, it almost always made him flinch. Two, he could swear that Gibbs noticed it every time that he did. And three, it usually meant bad news.

Like now, for instance, Vance had just returned from MTAC and had only just settled down into his chair when in burst Gibbs like a cyclone from hell. From what Vance could tell Gibbs needed to send someone to Australia. Vance was confused. Australia? Sure, he had been in MTAC all afternoon talking with the NCIS team in Los Angeles but surely he hadn't missed that much? Apparently he had.

"Why is it exactly you need to send two agents to Australia?" Vance asked moving his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Petty Officer Hughes was into drugs and his murder may be linked to several overseas in Australia," Gibbs said.

"Right. I get that. But do you really need to send _two_ agents over there? Or any at all? Can't you just talk with the Australian Federal Police via MTAC?" Vance disliked the idea of sending two agents overseas with so little to go on. Vance hated wasting tax-payers money when he had to pay for some of it as well.

"The AFP aren't the most helpful of people from past experience, it would be better to have someone there that could oversee their investigation and continue our own," Gibbs replied. He was up to something, Vance could feel it.

"And just who exactly would you be planning on sending?" Vance asked the tell-all question.

"Agents Dinozzo and David." Gibbs said. His face showed nothing of his plan but Vance saw beneath the skin. Tony and Ziva.

* * *

Melbourne international airport was unusually packed for three in the morning. Tony and Ziva had arrived in Australia two hours earlier; it had taken them that long to clear customs, even after flashing their badges.

"The _Aussies_ sure do like their customs officials," Tony said putting on a fake Australian accent.

"I hope that you are not going to talk like that the entire trip, Dinozzo," Ziva said. They stood at the taxi bay awaiting their ride. Surprisingly, Tony had more bags than Ziva did. Spotting their ride, a blue and white police Ford, the partners picked up their bags.

"Hey, you two must be Agents David and Dinozzo," the driver of the vehicle pronounced Ziva's surname like the man's name David.

"Its Dav_i_d, actually," Ziva put an emphasis on the 'i'. "No thank you, I think I can manage with these. Dinozzo however may need some help with his bags."

"Sorry about that miss. You're staying at the Langham but we, uh, didn't know that there were going to be two of you," the driver said.

Tony and Ziva looked up from putting their bags in the boot of the car. "You didn't?" Ziva asked.

"No ma'am. We were told to book one room only so that's what we did. They have this big bike race on in the city too so the hotel'll be booked solid. Hope you don't mind too much," the second policeman said.

"Budget cuts, I hate them," Tony said. This was going to be a long week.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi all, so this is chapter 3 in which not much happens but a bit is insinuated. Enjoy anyways though._

**Chapter Three**

Ziva put her suitcase down on the chair next to the window and looked out on the view of Eureka Tower. Impressive, she thought. The tower was lit up in hundreds of lights and rose majestically into the sky.

Tony joined Ziva by the window; she didn't even notice him come up behind which, for Ziva, was odd.

"You all right? The one room thing, it doesn't bother you too much does it?" Tony watched her anxiously awaiting her answer. She turned towards him escaping from her thoughts long enough to answer.

"No, Tony it is fine. I will take the left side of the bed," she turned back towards the window. Tony decided to leave it at that. He lay down on the bed. Even with the time difference and long flight, he didn't feel tired. Neither, it appeared, did Ziva. She was still looking out the window when Tony spoke next.

"You know what, the last time that we were in a hotel room together like this was two, yeah two years ago. Remember? We were undercover as married assassins," Tony said.

"Yes, I remember. You were beaten like milk," Ziva replied while closing the curtains.

"I think you mean beaten like _eggs_, it is the eggs that are beaten when baking a cake. But yeah, I was trying to forget that bit and concentrate on the other parts. Like that first night," Tony was grinning at Ziva.

"I remember that too. And when the director caught you and your… anyway you are forgetting about Paris," said Ziva. She smirked. "I am not tired. But we must get some rest anyways. Oh, and do not forget to call Gibbs or Abby. Actually you should probably call Abby first. She would be the one more likely to contact the Australian forces if we called tomorrow not tonight."

* * *

"How is it that Tony and Ziva are always the ones to go off overseas?" McGee was back in Abby's lab still desperately trying to recover something from their dead Petty Officer's laptop.

"I don't know McGee. Why don't you ask Gibbs?" Abby said.

"Gibbs? Yeah right. I'd like to live thankyou very much. I just can't shake the feeling that he set this whole thing up," McGee said, turning to Abby.

"McGee! How dare you insinuate that Gibbs staged a murder just so he could send Tony and Ziva off to Australia!" Abby said, feigning horror.

McGee frowned at Abby. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

Abby smiled. "I know, I just thought that it would be fun to say." _Beep._ "Ooh, I got a match on the mystery fingerprints from the crime scene. It's from a woman named… Casey March. O-oh."

McGee wheeled his chair over closer to Abby's own. "What o-oh?" he asked.

"Gibbs isn't going to like this," was all Abby said.

"Gibbs isn't going to like what?" Gibbs said as he strode into the lab, Caf-Pow in hand. "Looks like you got a match. Good work Abs."

"No, Gibbs. Not good work… at least not yet. It says here that this girl died two days ago in a bush-walking accident in Australia." Abby stared longingly at the Caf-Pow in Gibbs' hand.

"How did _her _fingerprints get at _our _crime scene?" Gibbs said indicating at the profile on the screen.

"That's the 'at least not yet part'. I'll find out Gibbs, promise." Abby said to Gibbs back as he walked away.

* * *

A man dressed in jeans and a large, black jacket stood in the doorway of a rented shed in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. He looked bored, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waited. Pulling a cheap phone from his jacket pocket he thought for a moment then dialled a number.

"Yeah?" came the answer on the other end of the line. About to hang up the phone the man thought better of it and answered.

"She ain't coming Boss. I swear it. She ain't effing coming."

"Then you're going to be waiting there a very, very long time." _Click_. The phone cut off leaving the man looking now annoyed and bored.

He debated with himself what might happen if he just left. No matter which way he looked at it, the answer wasn't in his favour.

"Damn it," he grumbled.

A white Holden Ute pulled into the lot, its tyres crunching the gravel as it slowly made its way towards the shed. It stopped and from it a brunette woman emerged. She was dressed in an evening cocktail dress. It was expensive, designer. Maybe Chanel or Prada. Intrigued the man stepped forward slightly like a dog watching it's dinner being placed before it. Maybe this wouldn't turn out to be as bad as he thought it might be.

"Have you got what he wanted?" asked the woman. She tossed back her head revealing delicate diamond earrings resting on her ears.

"Yeah. It's in the boot of that crap-pile over there. You'll get the keys once you pay up," the man recited his lines terribly, barely passing for an actual person.

"Oh, I don't think payment will be necessary," the woman said. She pulled a gun out of her purse and shot the man with incredible accuracy.

* * *

Ziva David was already down having her breakfast in the hotel restaurant when Tony woke up. He stumbled out of bed in his normal manner, feet first while wondering what time it was. Looking around he located the clock, next to which was a note in Ziva's handwriting.

_Breakfast, eight o'clock._

Tony looked at the time. 8.45 it read. Oops, he thought, Ziva won't be happy. Though half of him wished that she would walk in right at that moment. She didn't however and Tony quickly got changed.

The restaurant was just about empty when Tony walked in. The hostess did not seem to be all that pleased to see him telling him that he only had an hour to eat. Wondering again at the strange customs of Australians where breakfast stopped being served at ten, he walked over to where his partner sat.

She was facing the fountain sipping tea. Tony sat down in front of her smiling his charming Dinozzo smile.

"How's it going sweet-cheeks?" He asked.

Ziva looked at him and for a short moment seemed too lost in her own thoughts to even answer.

"Fine. It's good to see that you're up. I was afraid that I might have to force you," Ziva said.

"Uh, yeah. No, that won't be necessary. Did Gibbs call? He said he'd call us when they found out anything," Tony replied, helping himself to toast.

"Yes, he said they got a match on the prints found at the crime scene, they belong to an Australian woman who died two days ago in a bushwalking accident. We are to go look round her house this morning as soon as the AFP agent arrives," Ziva said. She seemed slightly distracted, looking at Tony from the corner of her eye as she talked. She watched him as he ate, smiling a little when he dripped jam down his chin.

"Did you sleep okay last night?" she asked, finally looking Tony in the eye.

"Yeah, I did. Best night's sleep in a while actually, uh… what about you? How did you sleep?" Tony was grinning, the same awkward grin he got when he was thinking things about his partner that would earn him a head slap from Gibbs.

"Oh I slept fine," Ziva said thinking about the night before.

* * *

**Last night.**

"…_she would be the one more likely to contact the Australian forces if we called tomorrow not tonight." Ziva said, smiling a little at the thought of their eccentric forensic scientist back in DC. _

"_Yeah, you're probably right. You want to use the bathroom first while I call?" Tony asked, already pulling his phone out from his pocket. He dialled Abby's number thinking vaguely about the time difference before realising as she picked up that it was late back home. _

"_Shit, Abby, sorry. I forgot about the time difference," Tony said._

"_Tony! Don't worry about it, I'm onto my fourth Caf-Pow of the night, Timmy and I are pulling an all-nighter trying to figure out this laptop," Abby sounded so wired she could power an entire suburb. _

"_Right, well just calling to check in… Ziva and I just got to the hotel. And uh Abs, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Ziva and I having to share a room again would you? Not yours and McDead's idea of a cruel joke I hope," Tony said, trying to sound mad but really he was secretly pleased at the idea of spending a few days with Ziva. _

"_Us? Tony? No, though it is a really weird coincidence. First Paris, then Australia. Nope, not me. McGee? You play a trick on Tony and Ziva?" she babbled on asking McGee a question whose answer Tony couldn't quite make out. "Nope, he says he didn't. Oops, we gotta go Tony. Have fun with Ziva." Abby hung up the phone and Tony couldn't help but think that she was insinuating something with that parting line._

_Right then though, he wasn't thinking too much about it because at that moment Ziva came out of the bathroom wearing her pjs, absently pulling her hair out of its elastic. _

_Damn, Tony thought, I'm never going to survive this night. _


End file.
